Copper prices steadied on Thursday as the market waited for developments on the US-China trade dispute, while concern about the manufacturing sector in top consumer China dominated market sentiment.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended little changed at $5,889 a tonne.
Prices of the metal, seen as a gauge of economic health, are down more than 10% from highs above $6,600 seen in April, but little changed from levels seen at the start of 2019.
"If you strip out the volatility from the ups and downs of the trade talks, prices haven't really gone anywhere," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
"Supplies of copper have been weak, but the market is not moving, which means demand is even weaker and that's because of the manufacturing recession, most prominent in the auto sector."
Mixed signals on a US-China "phase-one" trade deal have sidelined investors, while the dispute overall has damaged global economic activity, demand and investment plans.
US President Donald Trump during his London visit for the NATO summit said talks with China were going "very well" at one meeting, while warning that a deal may come only after elections in November 2020 at another.
Clouding prospects for a near-term trade deal, China warned on Wednesday that US legislation calling for a tougher response to Beijing's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority will affect bilateral cooperation.
China's factory activity showed surprising signs of improvement in November, but analysts are concerned about deflationary risks in the sector and unconvinced that the worst is over yet for Chinese manufacturers.
China accounts for nearly half of global copper demand estimated at around 24 million tonnes this year.
Strong support for copper prices at around $5,820 where the 50- and 100-day moving averages are converging and trendline resistance sits at $5,960.
The premium for the cash over the three-month aluminium contract has eased to around $9 a tonne. Earlier this week, it touched $22, the highest since July 2019, having been at a discount for the first 10 months of the year.
The premium since the start of November has attracted large amounts of aluminium to LME registered warehouses. Stocks at more than 1.28 million tonnes are at their highest since February and up more than 30% since early November.
Three-month aluminium was down 0.6% at $1,747. Zinc closed 0.5% lower at $2,234, lead fell 0.9% to $1,905, tin rose 0.3% to $16,800 and nickel gained 1.2% to $13,275 a tonne.
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